"The most basic and powerful
way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps
the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention….
A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect
than the most well-intentioned words."
--Rachel
Naomi Remen "An enemy is one whose
story we have not heard."
--Gene
Knudson-Hoffman
"I was in the presence of such incredible
and diverse women, all of whom shared their dreams and their
nightmares. I watched, and participated, as 39 women joined
forces to aid one woman through a difficult or beautiful revelation.
I listened as women told secrets they had never shared before
because there was so much trust and understanding hovering in
the room. I shared my own experiences with them as well. We
laughed and we cried. "
--Regan,
The Woolgatherer
Larry Yang
in Conversation with Raphael Cushnir - Parts
1&2
This interview with Larry
Yang is from the online audio series, "Teaching What We
Need To Learn," in which a wide array of leaders
in personal growth and spirituality share their own
innermost challenges. The series is hosted by author
and teacher Raphael Cushnir
"How do I listen to others?
As if everyone were my Master speaking to me
His cherished last words." -- Hafiz (1320-1389, Persia), Sufi mystic and poet
Five questions to focus conscious evolutionaries
Deepak Chopra
5/15/10
What kind of world do I want to live in, and what kind of world
do I want for my children and their children?
What is my role or contribution in bringing about this world?
If I am part of an organization and I am the leader of the organization,
what kind of team do I want to have and what is my relationship
with this team?
Where do I belong in this larger network of conversation that
we are having right now?
What do I feel is the need of the moment, and what do I see as
the solution of the moment?
"We just keep talking
until there's nothing left but the obvious truth." --Oren Lyons, faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan
of the
Onondaga Iroquois, said of his tribal council tradition
Excerpts from At last, a movement that
would have us listen to and learn from each other
"On Friday night, we broke into three groups (of eight participants
and one facilitator each) to discuss such questions as, What did
you understand about being an American when you were 12 years
old? How have you experienced political differences and how did
that affect you personally?
It was impossible to participate in that exercise without coming
to see (and feel and know) that every participant, whatever their
politics, was a complex and caring human being."
"But the end result of that conversation is we all realized
-- I mean, we all really “got” -- how misleading and
even infantilizing the old political spectrum had become."
"Before leaving, we all signed our names to a document titled
“We the People.” Many of us signed with flourishes,
as if we were signing something akin to the Declaration of Independence.
Here are the key passages:
“We respect our
differences and recognize America needs every one of our viewpoints,
ideas, and passions -- even those we don’t agree with --
to keep our democracy vital and alive;
“We recognize
that meeting here and across our land for dialogues across differences
builds trust, understanding, respect, and empowerment -- the conditions
necessary for freedom and democracy to live in us and around us;
“And, therefore,
each still grounded in our own considered views (conscience and
convictions), we commit ourselves and our communities of interest
to foster dialogue across the many divides in America, in large
and small groups, to build trust, insight, and inspired action
toward the more perfect union we all desire” "
"If we could read the secret history
of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering
enough to disarm all hostility." --
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Selective Attention Test
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